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  • 5y

    World Reading Habits 2020 with shaded counties and percentagesIsabel Cabrera writes: “2020 has been a strange year… for obvious reasons. Most of us spent more time at home. For some, this meant tuning into Netflix from the sofa, or taking the opportunity to learn new skills from online education platforms such as MasterClass or Coursera. However, for others this was an opportunity to dive into new books and read more. How did coronavirus change our reading habits? Which countries read the most this year? And what books were we reading?”

    Global English Editing, Nov. 6

  • Latest Library Links

    • 12m

      Cover of FlamerKristen Griffith writes: “Maryland’s school board is reversing Harford County’s removal of a book from public school libraries. The November 4 decision comes after the Harford County school board banned the young adult graphic novel Flamer by Mike Curato last summer. The local board had overruled the superintendent and a review committee who had decided to keep Flamer in middle and high school libraries. This is the first time the state board has ruled on a local book ban since the 2024 passage of Maryland’s Freedom to Read Act.”

      Baltimore Banner, Nov. 5; Sept. 10; American Libraries feature, June

    • 19h

      Shelves with archival boxes and foldersRodney Freeman Jr. writes: “We are living through a period of profound uncertainty and systemic challenge—where erasure of truth and history is not only possible but actively underway. History is protected by those who collect, preserve, and share the facts, and the archive becomes a battleground where every saved story is an act of resistance. The future will only remember what is preserved today, and the choice is between standing by as stories are diluted or destroyed—or fighting for the record, for the archive, and for the truth with steady, everyday work that anyone can participate in.”

      Common Dreams, Nov. 2

    • 24h

      Close-up of a phone with a social media grid of photosJohn Herrman writes: “Drawing on a new global survey of 250,000 adults in 50 countries by analytics firm GWI, John Burn-Murdoch at the Financial Times provocatively argues that, amidst all the fervor about artificial intelligence, another consequential story is unfolding more quietly: ‘In years to come, we may well look back on September 2025 as the point at which social media jumped the shark and began rapidly accelerating its transition from the place to be seen,’ he writes, ‘to a gaudy backwater of the internet inhabited by those with nothing better to do.’”

      New York Magazine: Intelligencer, Nov. 10; Financial Times, Oct. 3

    • 2d

      Ballot box (Photo: Element5 Digital/Pexels)While there were relatively few local elections in the US November 4, several that were held delivered good news for libraries. Washington County, Oregon, approved a library levy increase from 22 to 37 mills. School board members who had supported book bans lost in Cypress-Fairbanks (Tex.) Independent School District. In Ohio, 18 of 20 public library levies passed, and voters rejected several school board incumbents who ran on culture-war issues including banning books. In Pine-Richland School District in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, a slate of candidates opposing the school board’s new policy giving themselves power to add or remove library books, won the majority of board seats.

      OregonLive, Nov. 5; Houston Press Nov. 5; Cleveland.com, Nov. 5; Signal Ohio, Nov. 10; TribLive (Pittsburgh), Mar. 18, Nov. 5

    • 2d

      National Library Legislative Day logoFor the first time since 2018, ALA will host the National Library Legislative Day February 25–26, 2026. The event will combine advocacy education, networking, and in-person meetings with legislators and congressional staff. Interested participants must complete an interest form by December 12 to be considered, as capacity is limited to 235 people and ALA is working to ensure equitable state representation. During the February 25 training portion, participants will share advocacy stories, learn from policy experts, and strategize for meetings on Capitol Hill the next day.

      ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Nov. 10

    • 3d

      Library catalog displayCorey Halaychik writes: “Libraries have long been the backbone of academic and public access to knowledge. But over time, we have handed over too much control to vendors—companies that provide us with books, databases, discovery systems, and other essential services. If we continue down this path, we risk losing our ability to shape the future of information access. But libraries don’t have to be passive consumers of vendor products. We can be creators, leaders, and innovators. The question is: Are we ready to take that step?”

      International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Nov. 7

    • 3d

      Amanda JonesAmanda Jones, the Livingston Parish (La.) school librarian who became one of the first librarians to sue book-banning activists for defamation after relentless assaults on her character, has received an apology from one of the critics who accused her of giving inappropriate materials to children. Jones settled her lawsuit against Ryan Thames, who operates the Bayou State of Mind Facebook page, for $1 and an apology, in which he acknowledged that his claims about her were not true.

      Louisiana Voice, Nov. 3; American Libraries feature, Sept./Oct. 2023; Instagram, Nov. 2

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